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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Peace of mind… to appreciate life

Hi Guys. I recently finally taught my last property class. I still enjoy teaching but I have settled into a whole routine to re-invent myself. Through the whole host of issues that I am facing, I have grown closer to God. The central message that I have received is that I have put money as No. 1 priority and have relegated God to second or even third place. My personality has evolved and upon reflection, I cannot even stand myself, haha! All these will change from now on. I am very happy that many of you have sent me encouraging messages. I am heartened by the turnout of the Asian Titan Trends.

The over 1000 guests who showed up truly made my day. The whole Career Fair also became livelier because of your presence.

I shared my perspectives on what is going on in the local and international property markets. I have unreservedly shared my analysis with you over the last few years and for all of you who just followed the trends. Well, your portfolio would have done handsomely well. It may be time to lighten up on your Singapore portfolio now. Even with the latest round of measures, property prices has held firm in the mass-market sector whereas the main victim has been high-end condos. Sales activity has trickled except for those developers who cut prices to increase their level of units sold. D’Leedon is a case in point; the developer sold quite a few more units after lowering prices.

Going forward, the situation will be interesting and one has to differentiate between genuine housing demand and speculative demand. I believe that the price momentum has hit a snag and given the increase in holding costs especially for investment property owners, demand will be much weaker. What caused the increase in holding costs? The increase in property taxes recently announced and possibly higher interest rates costs from now henceforth.

A lot of attention has switched to commercial property (which I advised you go in a couple of years ago) as well as overseas properties, especially the Iskandar area. I will share with you my concerns in my next posting. Till then, take care and God Bless.

Hi Guys! I am writing to you from the air again. This time I am on the way back from the Land of the Rising Sun. I cannot feel but a little ...

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Andy OngFounder of ERC Holdings

Andy Ong Siew Kwee currently serves as the Founder of ERC Holdings. Under his leadership, the parent group has since established strong foothold in four business silos namely education ERC Institute , hospitality, training and property investment within two decades.

Ong is a strong believer in enabling startups and young brands reach their potential. Together with a group of partners, he founded the Entrepreneur’s Resource Centre (ERC) to help budding entrepreneurs transform their business ideas into sustainable models.

The recent venture into a co-working space; BIGWork , an ideation incubator lab; BIGFund and an immersive startup fitness concept; BIGFitness is a testament to Ong’s vision of staying at the forefront of innovation.

In the fashion of undying entrepreneurial spirit, Ong also pursued opportunities out of the education and training space. The BIGHotel was set up in 2013, and was later sold in a multi-million dollar deal.

To date, Ong has built a strong portfolio in a wide range of industries; he is the owner of several businesses in education, training, print media and property investments with a combined annual turnover of $200 million.

A multi-faceted talent, Ong is an author and a seasoned property investor too.

Ong has been featured on major media outlets such as CNBC, Bloomberg and The Straits Times.